1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mechanism for locating the end of a electrical wire presented to a wire working-station and, more specifically, to movable pick-up arms and an associated drive mechanism for causing the pick-up arms to sweep an area in front of a wire-working station to locate a power cord end and move the end to a preferred wire-working axis for presentation to the wire-working station.
2. Prior Art
In the manufacture of electrical power cords, for example, two-wire power cords, for use with electrically operated devices including power tools and appliances, the power cord is typically manufactured by removing a predetermined length of cord from a supply reel and preparing one or both ends of the cord by removing a portion of the outer insulating jacket, removing the jute filler-strings, unwrapping the helically wrapped wires, removing the insulation from the end of the wires that extend from the outer jacket, and then twisting the exposed conductor strands. The so-prepared wire ends may then e.g., be crimp-fitted to an electrical terminal or tinned with solder in preparation for a subsequent soldering step.
These operations are typically performed on a manufacturing-type line that includes an indexing conveyor which holds the end of the power cord in a clamp and advances the power cord from work station-to-work station. The cord end is held by the clamp along a preferred wire-working axis such that the wire-working station can advance toward the cord end or converge on the cord end to perform the required manufacturing steps. As a practical matter, the cord end generally extends in an off-axis direction because the weight of the cord causes it to "droop" below the desired wire working axis and/or a mechanical set induced into the cord during a prior manufacturing step causes it to extend in some other off-axis direction. In either case, a wire locating device is generally required to locate the off-axis cord end and move it to the wire-working axis prior to some or all of the manufacturing steps.
One device that has been used for centering the power cord end is a funnel structure with the lumen or cavity of the funnel facing the power cord end. As the conveyor presents each power cord end to the wire-working station, the funnel is advanced towards the power cord end with the inclined sides of the funnel forcing the power cord to the intended wire-working axis. While the funnel type locating structure is generally satisfactory, the frictional contact between the end of the power cord and the side of the funnel can cause the wires to occasionally buckle rather than be urged toward the wire-working axis, and, as a result, the power cord end can be misfed to the wire-working station.